Circle of Friendship Ministry 07:30 PM - 09:30 PM
A support group for separated or divorced persons. Informal, friendly, confidential meetings let us share emotions, problems and joys as we journey
together - non-denominational - all faiths welcome.
Please consider coming to a meeting - we meet the first, third and fifth Thursdays of each month in St. Mary’s Van Vooren, from 7:30 - 9:30 PM. If you have questions or concerns,please call Jeff Rusnak at 973.831.9847.

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Emmaus Men’s Fellowship07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Men of the parish are invited to join the EMMAUS Catholic Men’s Fellowship, an informal group which focuses on everyday issues of living from a Christian perspective. There is no fee - just bring your Bible. We meet in the library at the Youth Ministry Office from 7:30 - 8:30 AM on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of each month. Questions? Contact Ken at kenweinheimer@gmail.com or Stanley at 973.831.8948.

Movie Night 07:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Gathering in Youth Center Basement for all high school aged students each Wednesday night.

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Just Faith 202 07:00 PM - 09:30 PM
Just Faith group meets every third Thursday of the month at 7PM in the Carnevale Center rooms 203 and 204.

Circle of Friendship Ministry 07:30 PM - 09:30 PM
A support group for separated or divorced persons. Informal, friendly, confidential meetings let us share emotions, problems and joys as we journey
together - non-denominational - all faiths welcome.
Please consider coming to a meeting - we meet the first, third and fifth Thursdays of each month in St. Mary’s Van Vooren, from 7:30 - 9:30 PM. If you have questions or concerns,please call Jeff Rusnak at 973.831.9847.

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Emmaus Men’s Fellowship07:30 AM - 08:30 AM
Men of the parish are invited to join the EMMAUS Catholic Men’s Fellowship, an informal group which focuses on everyday issues of living from a Christian perspective. There is no fee - just bring your Bible. We meet in the library at the Youth Ministry Office from 7:30 - 8:30 AM on the first, third and fifth Saturdays of each month. Questions? Contact Ken at kenweinheimer@gmail.com or Stanley at 973.831.8948.

Saturday March 10th9AM to Noon (coffee/registration at 8:30 AM)Spina Hall

For most men, the three most challenging roles are those as father, husband and
worker. This morning of reflection is designed for the men of St. Mary’s
and will consider St. Joseph as a model for all three of these
roles. Different speakers will lead this morning of reflection to help men
think about how to live out their Christian vocation with St. Joseph as their
guide. The keynote speaker for this event will be Fr. Larry
Anderson. Please register for this event here: https://registration.stmarys-pompton.com/custom/index.php

English Language Learner (ELL) Program
ELL (English Learning Language) classes at St. Mary's will begin the spring term on Monday, MArch 5 and will continue each Monday and Wednesday until May 23. Classes are held in the bottom floor of the Carnavale Center from 7:30-9:00 pm. Classes are available for basic, intermediary, and advanced students. A registration fee of $20.00 is requested. The program has aided many people, over many years, in their understanding and use of the English language. Come join us.

English Language Learner (ELL) Program
ELL (English Learning Language) classes at St. Mary's will begin the spring term on Monday, MArch 5 and will continue each Monday and Wednesday until May 23. Classes are held in the bottom floor of the Carnavale Center from 7:30-9:00 pm. Classes are available for basic, intermediary, and advanced students. A registration fee of $20.00 is requested. The program has aided many people, over many years, in their understanding and use of the English language. Come join us.

Once again, this Lent, we encourage you and your family to participate in the Operation Starfish program. Please use it to teach your children about fasting, almsgiving and prayer and encourage them to make some daily sacrifices to benefit those in need.

The loose change we collect during Lent will used by our Outreach Ministry throughout the year. Last year the parish raised $5,868. Your support always makes an incredible difference to the many people we help all year long. Thank you for your commitment to the needy and for your generosity to Operation Starfish!

Baskets for this collections will be available in front of the Sanctuary throughout Lent.

From 7:00 - 9:00 PM every Monday during Lent, the church will be open to provide an opportunity for three different devotions:

1. One of the priests will be in the Confessional for individuals wishing to come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.2. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in the Monstrance on the Main Altar for silent prayer and adoration.3. Booklets will be available for anyone wishing to privately make the Stations of the Cross.These Mondays are open to anyone; our purpose is to provide a specific time for quiet reflection and a time to askfor the graces needed to make a good Lent.

2018 Liturgical Guidelines for the Flu Season

1. If you don't feel well and suspect that you may have the flu: remain at home.2. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or an alcohol based hand cleanser.3. Sign of Peace: If you feel uncomfortable with exchange of the sign of peace through a handshake you are under no obligation to do so. You may extend the sign of peace to your neighbors by a nod of the head.4. Distributing and Receiving the Eucharist: Priests, deacons, and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist must thoroughly wash their hands with soap and water or an alcohol based hand cleanser both before and after the distribution of the Eucharist. Receiving Holy Communion in the hand is the most practical means to distribute the Blessed Eucharist in a sanitary way.5. Receiving the Eucharist by also drinking the Precious Blood from the chalice is discontinued until the level of flu cases is dramatically decreased.

Work in Progress..

Dear Saint Mary’s Family,

Many of you have asked me about the repairs that are undergoing inour buildings. I am pleased to report that many things have been repaired or are being addressed thanks to the great job of our new Director of Maintenance and our Buildings and Grounds Committee. Phil Epstein has been a blessing to St Mary’s. The roof of the church has finally been repaired. Due to the weather, it took longer than expected. This week we are evaluating the work done and paying that big bill. With your financial support, we will continue with the roofs of Pathways and the School.

Plastering and painting the walls in the church is a priority; however,we need to clean or paint the ceiling beforehand. I’ll keep you posted. We have installed a new climate controlled system in the churchthat will enable us to save a lot of money while keeping the buildingproperly heated in the winter and cool in the summer.

As you can see by just going downstairs from the church to the basement, there are serious problems with pipes and walls. We took care of several leaks and replaced some pipes. We will continue in the spring and summer with the bigger jobs that require to shut down the heating system.

To extend the life of our boilers, including the new ones in theschool, we have purchased water softeners.All the candle stands in the church have been repaired. At the Carnevale Center, the outside lights are now working again, and Phil is working with Mike Cunningham, one of our Buildingand Grounds Committee members, to address the HVAC issues.

I want to thank all the Eucharistic Ministers who attended themeetings the last two Mondays. Thank you for your patience aswe implement the new scheduling system. Thank you Jennifer andKaren Neimann for taking leadership of this ministry.

Likewise, I am very thankful to Ken Weinheimer who has volunteeredto oversee our very busy Food Pantry. Currently, we are serving about212 families from 16 towns, ranging from Pompton Lakes to Jefferson.Ken, Phil and many volunteers are working together to update the facility so we can continue servicing all those in need.

Thank you again to all of you for your dedication, love and actionas we build the Kingdom of God here at St Mary’s.

Your brother and servant in Christ, in the spirit of Francis of Assisi,Padre Gonzalo

Year-end tax statements were mailed Thursday, January 25[for those who donated $500 or more during 2017].Anyone else wishing to receive a statement, please email your name, address and phone number to carolt@stmarys-pompton.org; Carol will email the statement to you (or call the Parish Office at 973.835.0374).

Please note: Statements for all donations made through Faith Direct will be mailed separately.

To help us streamline communications with you and reduce mailing expenses, please update just three items on our Parishdatabase. Go to www.stmarys-pompton.org and underQuick Links, click Update Family Records.

LGBT Ministry at Saint Mary's

LGBT Ministry at Saint Mary's

Welcome to LGBT Catholics PRAY SERVE GIVE All are welcome!

St. Mary’s is inspired to action by the charism of St. Francis of Assisi to welcome, worship and witness. By welcoming, celebrating and engaging, we are an example to our Catholic Community in fostering an inclusive environment.

As you are probably aware, church attendance duringthe summer months tends to drop off as vacations and weekend sporting events often conflict. On the other hand,the services we provide within the parish and for the largercommunity continue year round, as do their associatedexpenses. Thus, your consistent financial support of ourparish is vital to achieving our stewardship mission.The easiest way to be sure that your gift of treasure reachesus, even when you can’t be here, is through enrollment in ourelectronic offertory program: Faith Direct. If you have notyet enrolled, please consider doing so this month.